Self-adjusting cup dispenser and method

ABSTRACT

Improved self-adjusting cup dispenser and method of dispensing a stack of cups having curled rims employing biasing means for biasing worm dispensers radially inward toward a dispenser throat, and cam means for automatically momentarily and simultaneously camming the worm dispensers radially outward once each revolution to allow them to accept and dispense cups whose diameters vary outside of manufacturer&#39;&#39;s tolerance range for a stack of cups of a certain designated size.

United States Patent 1 Johnson et al.

[ Jan. 28, 1975 1 SELF-ADJUSTING CUP DISPENSER AND METHOD [75]Inventors: Donald Owen Johnson, Matawan;

Anthony Rosario Marchiano, Lyndhurst, both of NJ.

[73] Assignee: American Can Company,

Greenwich, Conn.

[22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.: 434,945

Hovekamp 221/222 Messervey 22l/222 Primary ExaminerStanley H. TollbergAssistant ExaminerFrancis J. Bartuska Attorney, Agent, or Firm-R0bert P.Auber; Paul R. Audet; George P. Ziehmer [57] ABSTRACT Improvedself-adjusting cup dispenser and method of dispensing a stack of cupshaving curled rims employing biasing means for biasing worm dispensersradially inward toward a dispenser throat, and cam means forautomatically momentarily and simultaneously camming the worm dispensersradially outward once each revolution to allow them to accept anddispense cups whose diameters vary outside of manufacturers toler- [56]Ref Cit d a nce range for a stack of cups of a certain designated UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,840,963 7/l958 Osmond ..221 222x 7Claims, 10 DrawingFigures f6 4: 2 44 H 2 Fi i /7, i: I 32 3d 42 lll'O sa--- /4\ 0| 7 I I2F L':5' l 14,] 1 g fe Z 2 I I l 5 .Q I 0'? l "I74 4 6 2" M I a 22 "o"'5? II Ii 22 34% llllll 25 ||0u l-o. Z/ 52 30 3 3420 SELF-ADJUSTING CUPDISPENSER AND METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto dispensers for dispensing disposable cups.

Dispensers for disposable cups of the type employing rotatabledispensing worms are well known in the art. Typically, they have acircums'cribing worm and groove formation about their peripheries. Thedispensing worms are commonly positioned about an opening in a framedesigned to receive a'vertical stack of nested disposable cups havingtapered side walls. The worms are usually gear or chain sprocket drivento rotate in a cooperative manner so that the leading knife edges of theworm formations separate the lowermost cup from the stack and pass theseparated cup downwardly through the circumscribing groove while theflat-tops of the knife edges support the next cup which is then thelowermost of the stack.

Cups of a particular stack are commonly designated as having, and areexpected to have, the same diameter. However, it is well known that, asmanufactured, cup diameters vary within certain manufacturers toleranceranges which for example can total about 1/8 inch. Cup diameters of astack sometimes vary beyond the tolerance ranges because cups and/ortheir brims become out-of-round, distorted or deformed due for exampleto exposure to high temperatures during storage or due to abuse duringstorage and/or handling.

Probably one of the most serious and common limitations of knowndisposable cup dispensers is their inability to automaticallyself-adjust or self-compensate to properly dispense withoutmalfunctioning cups whose diameters vary as mentioned. Conventional cupdispensers have no built-in automatic self-adjusting acceptance anddispensive capability to compensate for manufacturers tolerances, or fordistortions and deformations. They jam and cannot accommodate anddispense such cups without manual adjustments being made to thedispensers. Commonly, if the outside diameter of the cup to be dispensedis larger than manufacturers specifications, the outermost peripheralwalls of the dispensing worms engage the lowermost cup body sidewallsomewhat below its brim and thereby preventthe brim of that cup fromentering the worm grooves. This prevents the dispensing worms fromdispensing any additional cups from the stack.

In view of such and other limitations of conventional disposable cupdispensers, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedautomatic disposable cup dispenser which automatically self-adjusts toaccommodate and properly dispense distorted, deformed cups whosediameters vary above and below manufacturer's tolerance ranges for astack of cups of a designated size.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improvedself-adjusting disposable cup dispenser which can dispense cups ofvarying diameters within a stack without loss of contact or separatingand dispensing efficiency between the dispensing worms and cups.

Another object of this invention is to provide a selfadjusting automaticworm feed disposable cup dispenser wherein the dispensing worms arebiased inwardly but do not crush the disposable cups.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improvedself-adjusting automatic worm feed disposable cup dispenser whereinopening cams are connected to respective dispensing worms and biasedinwardly to cooperate with frame means to momentarily move thedispensing worms independently substantially radially outward once foreach revolution of the dispensing worms to allow the dispenser todispense a stack of nested cups which vary within the diameter rangepreset on the cup dispenser.

Still another object of this invention is to provide such an improvedself-adjusting disposable cup dispenser wherein the cams cooperate witha cam ring mounted on the dispenser frame.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide such an improvedself-adjusting automatic worm feed disposable cup dispenser wherein thestack of cups is fed to the dispenser in a cylindrical cartridge havinga cam ring attached thereto for cooperation with an opening cam.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved'method ofdispensing a stack of nested cups having curled rims by biasing a seriesof dispensing worms radially inward toward the cups and automaticallymomentarily and simultaneously camming each dispensing worm radiallyoutward once each revolution of the dispensing worms to allow them toself-adjust,

, accept and dispense all cups from the stack though some of the cupsvary outside of manufacturers diameter tolerance range for theparticular designated cup size of the stack.

Numerous other advantages and objects of this invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the descriptionwhich follows, which,taken in conjunction with the drawings, discloses a preferred embodimentthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation partly insection and with portions broken away showing a portion of the improvedself-adjusting cup dispenser of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view partially in section taken substantially alongline 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the relative positions of the cam lobe andthe cam ring when a stack of cups is initially loaded into the dispenseras in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view partly in section and withportions broken away showing the relative positions of the lowermost cupof a stack and a dispensing worm when a cam lobe engages the cam ring.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation with portions broken away taken substantiallythrough the lowermost cup brim showing its position relative to the wormdispenser.

FIG. 5 is a top view partially in section and with portions broken away,taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged top plan view partially in section with portionsbroken away showing the positions of the lowermost cups of a stackrelative to a dispensing worm when the curled brim of the lowermost cupengages the large diameter sidewall of the dispensing worm when the camlobe is'not engaging the cam ring.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation with portions broken away taken substantiallythrough the brims of the two lowermost cups, showing their positionsrelative to the dispensing worm of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top cross sectional view with portions broken away takensubstantially along line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a top cross sectional view with portions broken away takensubstantially along line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged top plan view partly in section and with portionsbroken away, showing the relative positions of the lowermost cups of astack and a dispensing worm when an opening cam lobe again engages camring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As a preferred, exemplaryembodiment of this invention, FIG. 1 shows a portion of the improvedselfadjusting disposable cup dispenser 10 of this invention. Moreparticularly FIG. 1 shows a cylindrical tube or cartridge 12 containinga vertical stack C of nested cups numbered 1, 2 and 3 having curled rimsl4 and body beads 14'. Tapered body sidewall 15 of lowermost cup 1 isshown diametrically opposingly abuttingly engaged at junction 17' justunder body head 14' by peripheral walls 16 of two of a series of rotarydispensing worms l8 affixed to worm shafts 20 journaled within pivotarms 22 in turn journaled upon pivot and drive shaft 24 mounted withinhousing 26. Rotary dispensing worms 18 are driven by suitable drivemeans, including means such as a motor (not shown), through pivot anddrive shaft 24 which in turn drives gear means generally designated 28which includes connecting means including planetary gears comprising sungear 30, timing gears 32 and planetary gears 34. Pinmounted to wormshafts 20 above dispensing worms 18 are rotary earns 36 respectivelyhaving cam lobes 38 thereon and grooves 40 for receiving biasing means,here, garter spring 42 which encompasses cams 36 and biases rotaryshafts 20 and their respective dispensing worms I8 and earns 36 radiallyinward so that cams 36 rotatingly abuttingly engage skirt 44 of annularcam ring 46. Cam ring 46 is separate from frame means 50 and can beseparate from or, as shown, affixed to cartridge 12 and inserted withinframe opening 48.

FIG. 1 also shows that dispensing worms 18 have worm and grooveformations, the leading edge of worm formation 51 being in the form of aknife edge 52 having a flat-top which forms a first land portion 54which drops vertically to a second land portion 56 which runs up to thebeginning of a groove generally designated 58 formed betweencircumscribingand gradually thickening worm formation 51 which spiralsdownwardly around the main body of rotary dispensing worm 18 andterminates at worm end 60 adjacent dispensing area 62. The main body ofeach dispensing worm 18 is substantially cylindrical and comprises anupper sidewall 64 which gradually tapers outwardly at 66 into largerdiameter lower sidewall 68. The upper portion of each dispensing worm 18comprises a frusto-conical portion 70 having an orienting wall 72 fororienting cup stack C when it is first loaded or deposited intodisiqfigafliwu a A.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view partially in section showing a portion of theimproved self-adjusting cup dispenser of this invention. Moreparticularly, FIG. 2 shows garter spring 42 biasing four worm shafts 20radially inward so that earns 36 abuttingly engage cam ring skirt 44which surrounds and is affixed to cartridge 12. FIG. 2 also shows wormperipheral walls 16 engaging tapered cup side wall 15 at junction 17'and the relative positions of cam lobe 38, worm knife edge 52 and taper66. FIG. 1 is substantially what would be seen if FIG. 2 were viewedfrom along line l-1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the right side of the apparatus of FIG. 1with portions broken away. More particularly, FIG. 3 shows cam lobe 38abuttingly engaging cam ring skirt 44. This moves worm shaft 20substantially radially outward against the bias of garter spring 42,creates a gap between worm peripheral wall 16 and cup tapered side wall15 and thereby allows the lowermost cup 1 and stack C which it supportsto drop from the position shown in FIG. 1 where the stack is supportedby the diametrically opposing engagement of worm peripheral walls 16with cup tapered sidewall junction 17', to the position shown in FIG. 3wherein curled rim 14 of the lowermost cup rests on worm second landportion 56 adjacent the beginning of groove 58. The distance that camlobe 38 extends beyond regular circumference of cam 36 can be madeslightly greater than the distance that taper 66 extends from dispensingworm upper side wall 64, so that the outer periphery of curled rim 14 oflowermost cup 1 passes easily over the outer wall of taper 66.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of dispensing worm 18 showing theposition of rim 14 of cup 1 relative to worm second land 56, groove 58and worm knife edge 52. More particularly, FIG. 4 shows that given thecircumferential contour of cup curled rim 14, the portion of worm secondland 56 that cup rim l4 rests on is radially offset from worm knife edge52 and taper 66, and is before the beginning of downwardly sloping landportion 57 at the beginning of groove 58.

FIG. 5 is a top cross sectional view with portions broken away takensubstantially along line 5--5 of FIG. 3 and shows the spacing betweenrim l4 and worm upper side wall 64 and between peripheral wall 16 andcup junction 17, bead l4, junction 17', and tapered side wall 15.

FIG. 6 shows the positions of rims 14 of cups 1 and 2, relative todispensing worm 18 after worm shaft 20 has rotated some to remove camlobe 38 from the abutting engagement with cam ring skirt 44 that isshown in FIG. 3. As cam lobe 38 loses contact with cam ring skirt 44,the radially inward bias of garter spring 42 immediately brings theouter periphery of rim 14 of cup 1 into engagement with smaller diameterworm upper side wall 64. 'As dispensing worm 18 rotates in a counterclockwise direction, rim 14 of cup 1 maintains its abutting engagmentwith dispensing worm 18 while it rides over dispensing worm taper 66onto lower side wall 68 because the rims of the cups shown protrudefurther from the junction 17 between the rims 14 and tapered side wall15 than cam lobes 68 protrude from the circumference of cams 36. Asshown in FIG. 6 engagement or registration of rim 14 of cup 1 againstlower side wall 68 prevents the normal circumference of cam 36 fromabuttingly engaging cam ring skirt 44 and will do so as long as cup rim14 rides in abutting engagement with lower side wall 68.

FIG. 6 also shows that the lower portion of worm formation 51 whichgradually thickens and slopes downward from knife edge 52, forces cup 1downward into groove 58 and thereby separates cup 1 from cup 2 whosetapered side wall 15 portion between body bead 14 and rim 14 is nowengaged by worm peripheral wall 16. This diametrically opposingengagement between worm peripheral walls 16 and cup side wall 15supports cup 2 and stack C.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of dispensing worm 18 showing thatwith respect to FIG. 6, rim 14 of lowermost cup I rides in groove 58,and rim 14 of cup 2 remains in contact with peripheral walls 16 aboveworm first land portion 54 until lobe 38 hits cam ring skirt 44 when itwill drop vertically to second land portion 56.

FIG. 8 is a top cross sectional view with portions broken away takensubstantially along line 88 of FIG. 6 and showing that tapered side wall15 of cup 2 is engaged by worm peripheral wall 16. The dashed line onthe worm represents worm lower side wall 68 which lies beneath firstland 54.

FIG. 9 is a top cross sectional view with portions broken away takensubstantially along line 9-9 of FIG. 6 and showing the outer peripheryof rim 14 of lowermost cup 1 abuttingly engaging lower side wall 68.

FIG. is a side elevation with portions broken away showing the positionsof cups 1, 2 and 3 relative to dispensing worm l8 and showing cam lobe38 abuttingly engaging cam ring skirt 44 one revolution after the lobelast abuttingly engaged skirt 44 in FIG. 3. FIG. 10 shows that when camlobe 38 abuttingly engages cam ring skirt 44 this second time, cam ring44 moves worm shaft 20 and dispensing worm l8 radially outward todispense cup 1 by freeing it from abutting engagement with lower sidewall 68 of groove 58. Cup 2 is dropped from the position where its sidewall was engaged by peripheral wall 16 (FIG. 6) to worm second land 56so that its rim l4 rests on the radially outer portion of second land 56at a point thereon radially offset toward the reader from taper 66 andknife edge 52 in the manner shown in FIG. 4.

As dispensing worm 18 of FIG. 9 continues to rotate in acounterclockwise direction, rim 14 of cup 2, like that of cup 1 aspreviously explained, passes over taper 66 and abuttingly engages largerdiameter lower side wall 68 as it is passed downwardly along groove 58until it is dispensed by the radially outward movement of shaft anddispensing worm 18 when cam lobe 38 hits cam ring skirt 44, as shown inFIG. 9. The portion of tapered side wall 15 of cup 3 above bead l4 andbelow rim 14 is engaged by peripheral wall 16 and diametricallyopposingly held in a position wherein its rim 14 is vertically spacedfrom first land 54 until cam lobe 38 hits cam ring skirt 44 when cup 3will drop to worm second land 56 as occurred with cup 2 in FIG. 9. Thisprocess continues for the lowermost and next lowermost cups until eachsuccessive nested cup is serially accepted and dispensed from stack C.When the last cup, here, cup 4, is dispensed, garter spring 42 will moveworm shafts 20 radially inward until cams 36 abuttingly engages cam ringskirt 44.

To operate the improved self-adjusting cup dispenser of this invention,stack C is placed vertically within throat 74 of dispenser 10. If camlobes 38 are not abuttingly engaging cam ring skirt 44 at the time ofloading, the inward bias of garter spring 42 will cause worm' peripheralwalls 16 to engage cup body tapered side wall 15 at junction 17 underbody head 14, if there is one, and cup brim 14 of lowermost cup 1 willnot seat on either worm first land 54 or second land 56. If, at loading,cam lobe 38 is abuttingly engaging cam ring skirt 44, throat 15 will beenlarged, lowermost cup 1 will drop and its brim 14 will sit upon one ofthe land portions. Which land it drops upon depends upon which one thecam lobe overlies. If, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, cam lobe 38 ispositioned so that its high point is radially aligned over a point onsecond land 56 adjacent the beginning of groove 58, brim 14 of cup Iwill drop to that point on second land 56 where lead line 56 touches thesecond land. As dispensing worms l8 rotate in a counterclockwisedirection, the outer periphery of the curl of brim 14 will engaginglyride on small diameter upper side wall 64 and engagingly ride over taper66 and on larger diameter lower side wall 68 within groove 58. As brim14 of cup 1 enters groove 58, leading knife edge 52 passes over brim l4and the lower surface of worm formation 51 which slopes downwardly asthe worm thickens, engages the top of brim l4 and forces cup 1vertically downward through groove 38 and throat 74. As knife edge 52 ispassing over brim 14 of cup 1, worm peripheral wall 16 engages taperedside wall 15 of cup 2 above body bead 14, to thereby stop its downwardmovement and thereby support cup 2 and stack C in throat 74. Cup 2 willbe held by peripheral walls 16 until dispensing worms l8 and cams 36rotate a full revolution. At one full revolution when cam lobe 38abuttingly engages cam ring skirt 44, dispensing worm I8 will be movedradially outward to again open throat 15 and thereby simultaneouslyrelease cup 1 from abutting engagement with large diameter lower sidewall 68 while releasing tapered side wall 15 of cup 2 from engagementwith peripheral side walls 16. The releasing of cup 1 dispenses the cupfrom the dispenser, while the releasing of cup 2 drops the cup downwardso that its brim sits on second land 56 adjacent the beginning of groove58. As dispensing worms l8 rotate during their second revolution theprocedure repeats itself so that cup 2 is forced downwardly into groove58 while peripheral walls 68 engage tapered side wall 15 and hold cup 3in stack C in place until cam lobe 38 again abuttingly engages cam ringskirt 44 to dispense cup 2 from the dispenser and to drop cup 3 ontosecond land 56 adjacent the beginning of groove 58. This cyclical actioncontinues until all cups of stack C are dispensed from the dispenser.

The aforementioned description of the operation of the dispenser of thisinvention pertains when the cups being dispensed are relatively strongsuch as doublewrapped wax-coated cups and have brims which extendoutwardly far enough from the junction between the brim and the taperedside wall to engage large diameter lower side wall 68. When the cupsbeing dispensed are relatively weaker such as singlewrapped, lightlyfinished cups and when their brims do not extend outwardly sufficientlyto engage lower side wall 68, they ride on the upper surface of worm 51as they are passed downwardly through groove 58. The improvedselfadjusting cup dispenser of this invention is therefore suitable fordispensing cups of different strengths as well as different sizes. It isalso suitable for dispensing cups which do not have body beads 14' suchas those that merely have tapered side walls.

The ability of the improved cup dispenser of this invention toself-adjust depends upon the cooperation of the cam means including camring 46 and cam 36 having lobe 38, on the biasing means including garterspring 42 and on the particular drive means employed.

The cam ring that is employed with the self-adjusting cup dispenser ofthis invention must have an opening whose diameter is sufficiently largeto accept that of the cups to be dispensed and/or that of thecylindrical cartridge employed.

The cams employed must respectively have lobes sufficient to move eachdispensing worm radially outward a distance sufficient to allow them toaccept the brims of cups of a stack some of whose diameters are withinor, to a degree allowed by the size of the cam ring opening, without thediameter tolerance range of the stack. The extent that lobes 38 extendbeyond the normal circumference of cam 36 should be such that when lobe38 hits cam ring skirt 44, worms will engage the cup side wall or brimto vertically support the stack and prevent it from falling through thedispenser throat.

The biasing means employed can be of any suitable type. Its biasingforce can vary depending upon the strength of the cups to be dispensed.For the aforementioned relatively strong doublewrapped waxed-coatedcups, the embracing force of garter spring 42 can be relatively strong.For weaker cups such as singlewrapped lightly finished cups, the forceshould be less to prevent crushing of the cups.

The drive means which can be employed in the improved self-adjusting cupdispenser of this invention can be any suitable drive means whichrotatably drives the dispensing worms in time and which allows eachdispensing worm 18 to move radially and to self-adjust independently ofthe other worms. It has been found advantageous to employ the planetarygear system and pivot arm arrangement shown herein which allows wormshafts 20 and dispensing worms l8 and cams 38 affixed thereto to respireor cyclically move radially outward and inward each time cam lobe hitsand moves off of cam ring skirt 44, and which allows dispensing worms 18to independently compensate and self-adjust radially inward or outwardto previously mentioned irregularities in brim or tapered side walldiameter or circumference without loss of timing of the rotation betweenthe respective dispensing worms. Thus for example, in FIG. 2, if theupper right hand dispensing worm were to move radially outward due forexample to a pucker in the cup brim, timing gear 32 would pivot on sungear to allow that dispensing worm to move independently whilemaintaining the driving action of and timing between all of shafts 20,dispensing worms 18 and cam 38. Likewise, after the dispensing wormmoves over the pucker, or when it moves into a concavity in the cup brimcircumference, the bias of garter spring 42 would self-adjustingly movethat dispensing worm radially inward to maintain contact with the cup sothat that dispensing worm will cooperate with the others to dispense thecup without malfunctioning.

It has been found advantageous to use a minumum of four dispensing wormsalthough it is more desirable to use six.

It is thought the invention and many of its attendant advantages will beunderstood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent thatvarious changes can be made in the form, construction and arrangement ofthe parts of the improved self-adjusting cup dispenser mentioned hereinand the method described herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages,the dispenser and method hereinbefore described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. An improved dispenser for dispensing a nested stack of cups havingtapered side walls and curled rims, the dispenser being of the typewhich includes frame means having an opening therein defining adispenser throat for receiving the nested stack of cups,

an annular series of rotary dispensing worms respectively fixedlymounted on rotary shafts and positioned adjacent the frame throat, thedispensing worms having about their respective peripheries, aflat-topped knife-edge portion which gradually thickens intocircumscribing worm and groove formations for separating the lowermostcup from the stack and passing the separated cup downwardly through thegroove and dispensing it,

and drive means including gear means for driving the worm shafts anddispensing worms in timed cooperative relationship, the improvementwhich comprises:

cam means including rotary cams and a cam ring mounted on the framemeans, the rotary cams being mounted on the rotary shafts and driven bythe gear means in tiime with the dispensing worms and cooperative withthe cam ring to automatically momentarily and simultaneously move eachdispensing worm radially outward from the frame throat once for eachrevolution of the dispensing worms and thereby allow them to self-adjustto serially accept and dispense each cup from a stack though thediameters of some cups are outside manufacturers diameter tolerancerange for the cup designated size of the stack,

biasing means for biasing the rotary shafts, dispensing worms and rotarycam means radially inward so that the rotary cam means are cooperativewith the cam ring and the gear means including connecting means forallowing each dispensing worm to move substantially radially toindependently adjust to the cup and brim diameter variances to maintainworking contact with the cups while maintaining the timed cooperativerelationship between the dispensing worms and the rotary cam means.

2. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the rotary cams have lobesthereon and the cam ring includes an annular skirt, each rotary cambeing mounted on one of the rotary shafts such that each cam lobesimultaneously cyclically engages a portion of the cam ring skirt andsimultaneously momentarily moves its rotary shaft substantially radiallyoutward.

3. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the annular cam ring has adepending rigid skirt whose interior wall surface defines the dispenserthroat and whose exterior wall surface is abuttingly engaged by therotary cam lobe.

4. The improved dispenser of claim 3 wherein the frame means include acylindrical tube for holding the stack of nested cups, and the annularcam ring is affixed to the outside of the tube.

5. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the biasing means isagarter spring which embraces the cam means.

6. The improved dispenser of claim 3 wherein the biasing means is agarter spring which embraces the cam means.

7. An improved method of dispensing a stack of nested cups having curledrims, the method being of the type which includes the steps of:

providing frame means having an opening which defines a throat therein,

ward the throat,

automatically momentarily and simultaneously camming each dispensingworm substantially radially outward once each revolution thereof toincrease the distance between the dispensing worms to allow them toself-adjust, accept and dispense all cups from a stack though thediameters of some cups are outside manufacturer's diameter tolerancerange for the designated cup size of the stack.

1. An improved dispenser for dispensing a nested stack of cups havingtapered side walls and curled rims, the dispenser being of the typewhich includes frame means having an opening therein defining adispenser throat for receiving the nested stack of cups, an annularseries of rotary dispensing worms respectively fixedly mounted on rotaryshafts and positioned adjacent the frame throat, the dispensing wormshaving about their respective peripheries, a flat-topped knife-edgeportion which gradually thickens into circumscribing worm and grooveformations for separating the lowermost cup from the stack and passingthe separated cup downwardly through the groove and dispensing it, anddrive means including gear means for driving the worm shafts anddispensing worms in timed cooperative relationship, the improvementwhich comprises: cam means including rotary cams and a cam ring mountedon the frame means, the rotary cams being mounted on the rotary shaftsand driven by the gear means in tiime with the dispensing worms andcooperative with the cam ring to automatically momentarily andsimultaneously move each dispensing worm radially outward from the framethroat once for each revolution of the dispensing worms and therebyallow them to self-adjust to serially accept and dispense each cup froma stack though the diameters of some cups are outside manufacturer''sdiameter tolerance range for the cup designated size of the stack,biasing means for biasing the rotary shafts, dispensing worms and rotarycam means radially inward so that the rotary cam means are cooperativewith the cam ring and the gear means including connecting means forallowing each dispensing worm to move substantially radially toindependently adjust to the cup and brim diameter variances to maintainworking contact with the cups while maintaining the timed cooperativerelationship between the dispensing worms and the rotary cam means. 2.The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the rotary cams have lobesthereon and the cam ring includes an annular skirt, each rotary cambeing mounted on one of the rotary shafts such that each cam lobesimultaneously cyclically engages a portion of the cam ring skirt andsimultaneously momentarily moves its rotary shaft substantially radiallyoutward.
 3. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the annular camring has a depending rigid skirt whose interior wall surface defines thedispenser throat and whose exterior wall surface is abuttingly engagedby the rotary cam lobe.
 4. The improved dispenser of claim 3 wherein theframe means include a cylindrical tube for holding the stack of nestedcups, and the annular cam ring is affixed to the outside of the tube. 5.The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the biasing means is a garterspring which embraces the cam means.
 6. The improved dispenser of claim3 wherein the biasing means is a garter spring which embraces the cammeans.
 7. An improved method of dispensing a stack of nested cups havingcurled rims, the method being of the type which includes the steps of:providing frame means having an opening which defines a throat therein,providing an annular series of shaft-mounted rotary dispensing wormspositioned adjacent the frame throat, providing drive means includinggear means for driving the dispensing worms in timed coOperativerelationship, placing a vertical stack of nested cups within the framethroat, and rotating the inwardly biased dispensing worms, theimprovement which comprises: biasing the dispensing worms radiallyinward toward the throat, automatically momentarily and simultaneouslycamming each dispensing worm substantially radially outward once eachrevolution thereof to increase the distance between the dispensing wormsto allow them to self-adjust, accept and dispense all cups from a stackthough the diameters of some cups are outside manufacturer''s diametertolerance range for the designated cup size of the stack.